Posted
by
samzenpuson Wednesday February 08, 2012 @07:52PM
from the lost-your-weapon-you-have dept.

First time accepted submitter psiogen writes "Flynn Michael, an instructor at New York Jedi, an organization that teaches 'practical knowledge of how to use a lightsaber, left his custom-crafted blade for only a few imperial minutes, but when he returned, it was gone. From the article:'“Who steals somebody’s lightsaber? It’s like stealing someone’s toy out of the sandbox,” said Michael, the founder of New York Jedi, a stage combat performance group. “I finally got my uber custom saber, and then some jerk walks out with it."'"

Sword collectors are one thing, a Jedi instructor is... well, just kinda weird. You can't really train with an actual light saber, and you can't really choke people from a distance. Which only really leaves Ninja skills. So the best the guy can be is a a Ninja instructor, really.

Seriously. You valued this item enough that you had it custom made for yourself, your livelihood as a stage performer depends on it, and to some degree it represents some of your identity (being able to call yourself a Jedi, for example). Obviously this item is important. Yet you left this valuable, important item go unwatched "for a few minutes" in a NYC bar. Imagine that, something valuable disappearing in NYC *and* a bar. What are the chances?

I do not understand why you would bring such a valuable item to a bar and not lock it up, and why you would take your eyes off of a valuable item in the first place. Let me put it another way. If I go to football stadium and leave my high performance laptop on my seat while I go get some food and come back and see that the laptop is gone, should I really be that surprised?

Let me give you another case. For reasons unknown Apple employees 'lose' the prototype of the IPhone 4 in a California bar not once but twice. It could be argued that this was a publicity stunt (esp considering the offending employees were not fired) but there was no sympathy for the lost device. In fact a leading tech magazine got it and started working on a tech story on the IPhone4 specs and capabilities until Apple's lawyers persuaded the magazine to give it back to Apple. Did anyone lament the case for Apple? No, there was much mirth and glee on Slashdot on this story. Because it is outrageous and stupid.

You compare this the childish behavior of someone stealing your toy. Respectfully I would disagree and this is the very adult behavior of someone stealing some valuable property. I do not cheer for thieves of any kind, from burglars, pickpockets, muggers, or carjackers. Part of being adult (and one that most people learn as a child) is that there are certain actions that you can take to lessen your risk. This means that we as adults learn to lock our doors and buy home security systems, we don't walk around with money sticking out of pockets, we watch out for dangerous situations, and we are generally careful with the items that we don't want to lose. You did not do this. So while I will not cheer for the thief in this situation, I also will not sympathize much with you either.

I also don't understand why you would publish the incident to the world. You already know who did it (you have them on video, and have confronted them), you know where it is (this isn't a worldwide issue), and you have taken initial action on it (put up flyers around the area). If you still feel a need for action take them to small claims court. Slashdot is not the right tool for your situation.

Everyone (including me) has lost valuable items and has learned an unpleasant truth from it. I wish you the best of luck in getting your lightsaber back.

Bosch, I've flown one one side of the galaxy to the other and I've never seen anything that led me to believe there's some all powerful force controlling everything. It's all a bunch of simple tricks and nonsense.